See you later
by Arduriel
Summary: "Erza Scarlet: an agent from secret police agency, which specializes in super dangerous cases. This agency is called Fairy tail..." rating T just because of some blood and swearing... nothing so bad so far, but may occur later.
1. Secret agency

_Author's note: Hello minna! I'm very happy to start this story and I'm all the more happy to finally write this first chapter. Please leave me your reviews and let me know if there's something really wrong or really great in this story. And remember  
more reviews= sooner update ;)  
And really sorry about my first attempt when I forgot to write an ending to this chapter, but now it's finally all settled. And I'm sorry that this chapter have to end like this, but you wouldn't read anymore if it wasn't so unfinished :D  
Sorry for the all too long full of blabbering author's note and now enjoy the story ;)  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own fairy tail and I do not really even own this plot, but I do own the scenery at least :D_

It was a dark rainy night. The street lamps tried their best to bring at least a small piece of light to the city, but it wasn't very sufficient. The only source of light was the thunder which occasionally struck the sky. Most of the city was without electricity, which wasn't so troublesome at night.

In one window a weak light of a candle lit up a tall woman with scarlet hair tied up in a stern bun. She wore a suit with a red tie and despite the darkness she wore sunglasses. From her stance you could see a strong authority and a strong personality. Her glare could pierce through all resistance.

In the chair there was sitting a man who wore a black cloak. His gaze seemed amused and somehow sickening. He was completely confident and had a scary aura around him. Weaker characters might have succumbed beneath his feet if he wanted to, but this woman wouldn't do that in million years. There was a clash of wills in this quiet room. The tense was almost palpable.

"You know why I am here, Mr. Jose." she said with her fierce voice. The said man chuckled with his sickening scary sound. Then he looked at her arrogantly giving her a clear message that he watches her from above. "Erza Scarlet: an agent from secret police agency, which specializes in super dangerous cases. This agency is called Fairy tail, is it?" he chuckled arrogantly. "That's a very stupid name for an agency with such a dangerous specialization, in my opinion." he then smiled. Erza had never thought that a smile could be this dark and ugly. But her face stayed strong as always. Her determination was above her emotions.

"Jose Porla: accused of dealership, providing services of assassins, robbers, burglars and hackers. You're the head of an infamous mafia group called Phantom lord. Shall I also express my opinion about this name, or can we get to the point of our encounter?"

Her voice stayed calm and composed even though she was ready to pierce this man with glare only if necessary.

Jose laughed amusedly. "As we can see, the introduction isn't necessary here. We both have some important information about each other. You came here to arrest me even though you have no evidence that what you accuse me for is true or not."

"There are many witnesses. That's enough evidence for me to arrest you."

"You have some unyielding attitude there. What a pity that you work for the police. You could be a queen of the underworld in my mafia group."

"Is this an invitation? If that's the case I must reject your offer."

"I thought so. For a fierce woman as you to switch sides so easily would be inappropriate. But I'm afraid I also do not want to accept your invitation to jail."

"I'm afraid you have no choice." she said and took a step closer to him.

"Is that so?" he chuckled again and stood up.

Erza suddenly gasped as she felt an iron blade pointed at her throat. A drop of blood flew down her neck. Jose laughed cruelly. "I hope you didn't think I would go without any trouble." he took the candle in one hand. "I've worked really hard to achieve this status and I won't let go so easily." He walked to the door. Erza watched him with the same determination even though her life was now in danger. "Miss Erza, I hope you'll enjoy the company of two of my most capable assassins. Farewell." He said slyly and walked off the room with the only source of light. The room stayed completely dark.

Erza didn't move a muscle. She tried to catch a sight of at least one of the assassins, but it was impossible in this utter darkness. There would have been complete silence if not for the persistent rain outside. Erza clenched her teeth. 'I have no time for this.' she thought.

A loud thunder sounded outside and that was the start of everything. Erza thrust her elbow into the belly of the behind her standing assassin. She afterwards managed to take his wrist in an iron grip and twisted his arm in a painful stance. The man screamed in sudden pain and then Erza heard the second assassin from behind her. He was pointing a long knife ready to thrust in her back, but she dodged and he hurt his partner's twisted arm. The man screamed again. Erza struck the surprised second assassin in his belly and he fell down unconscious. Erza panted heavily. She hadn't been sleeping well a few nights and this case was tougher then anyone thought it would be. She came into this place not in her best condition and now she saw it was a mistake. She wasn't so ready to fight as she assumed.

She suddenly felt a stabbing pain in her arm. She hissed out of pain. The conscious man managed to get the knife out of his arm and stab hers. She tried to knock him out with a high kick. He dodged it and was ready to attack her again, but she suddenly changed the direction of her kick and hit his head. He fell down unconscious next to his knocked out partner.

Erza hissed again as she took out the knife in her arm. 'Damn it, this was my favorite suit.' she thought as she tried to stop the bleeding. 'Ok, this is no time for nursing my wounds. I need to follow Jose.' She torn a piece of cloth of the assassin's clothes and bandaged her wound as quickly as possible. She run through the door Jose escaped determined to find him and catch him once and for all. He managed to escape too many times. She wasn't willing to let him escape now.

In the next room there welcomed her the same darkness as in the previous. Erza touched her sunglasses and activated the night vision. It came very handy in situations like this.

Nobody was in there so she ran into the next room. It was much bigger room lightened by a single candle on the other side of the room. Erza looked around but couldn't see anyone.

She felt a sudden pain in her forehead and her sunglasses fell down broken. A small knife crashed into the wall from her right. Her vision was blurred by her blood pouring from her forehead. She wiped the blood with the back of her hand and looked to the place from where the blade was thrown.

"So you are not as undefeatable as it is said." a sly voice said. She saw Jose standing in front of her with a long knife. He attacked here suddenly and without mercy. She managed to dodge it but she had to wipe the blood from her eyes once again. The little while of the lack of attention was enough for him to strike her in leg. She hissed in pain and jumped away from him. She grasped her wound. It was pretty deep and bleeding badly. She should have treated it soon, but she knew it would be difficult in the middle of action. She glared at Jose. "Why don't you use a gun? It would be much easier." she said provocatively.  
"I prefer this old fashioned mode. It's much more painful and quieter."

He attacked again. She dodged and tried to knock him out as she did to those assassins but he blocked her kick and grinned. "I am not as those low level assassins." He shoved her back and she had some difficulties not to fall to the ground. "So then why did you send them after me?" He smiled with his sickening glare "To test you obviously." and he attacked again.

"You despicable swine!" she shouted at him and tried to dodge his attack but failed. He cut the side of her belly and she hissed again. She was losing too much blood too quickly. 'If this doesn't end quickly enough I can say goodbye to my consciousness.' she thought as she dodged his next attack.  
"You're not so bad, Miss Erza. I'm just really sorry that you do not work for me. I wouldn't have had to kill you then." he said insincerely and stabbed. He managed to cut the side of her belly again. She jumped away from him so she could catch her breath, but the pain was now excruciating and her eyes were getting blurry. She panted heavily as he slowly approached her.  
"Now that I recall, weren't you the one who survived my attack on Fairy tail? You were lucky to survive and now you even came to fight me? How admirable." He said ironically and stabbed again. He managed to brush her arm and she jumped away again.  
"And then again, you managed to get here through my troops in this building and are still standing. You are a very strong or a very reckless person." He stabbed her thigh and she fell to the ground holding her wound, hissing in pain. He leaned over her with his arrogant glance and said "Goodbye, Miss Scarlet. You've made me a pleasurable company."  
He readied himself for the final blow.

„Erza!"

A familiar voice screamed and Erza snapped out of her pain just in time to dodge Jose's blow. This one would have been the last, indeed. Both Jose and Erza looked in the direction from where the voice called her name. There stood a young panting man in a white torn shirt with black hair. Jose smiled widely.  
"Look at him. He seems to be your friend, isn't he?"

Instead of an answer he received a kick in his chin, which instantly knocked him out.

Erza stood above him panting, trying to catch her breath. She looked at the man who saved her life.  
"Good timing, Gray."  
The said man observed her and replied: "Could have been better, don't you think?"

"That doesn't matter. Look, we've finally got him. I knew this job would be tough, but I've never imagined it would take three months to get him."

Gray smiled upon their well done work and tied Jose, till he was still unconscious. When he finished, he looked at Erza's wounds. "Reinforcements are on their way here. We can leave it in their hands. Now, we should get you to a doctor, your wounds seem pretty badly."

"Like you're the one to talk, look at yourself first." she said amusedly.

"OK, both of us need to see a doctor." he answered with a smile. Both of them started to walk off them room when a loud thunder sounded.

Suddenly they heard something more than a thunder: plastic explosives. A chain reaction was now set off through the building. Erza shouted at Gray: "Run!" and both of them tried to escape the inescapable explosion. They managed to get to the first floor, but still were far from an entrance. They had the explosion in their backs. Erza had bled too much and Gray knew there's no way she would have made it to the entrance even without the time limit. He did the first thing that crossed his mind. He embraced Erza before she fell to the ground unconscious and jumped out of the window. The explosion flew through the corridor where they'd been a second ago. But the fire managed to catch them and burnt Gray's skin as he tried to protect Erza with his own body. When the fire disappeared, Gray looked to the ground and found out that the first floor wasn't as low as he predicted. He hugged Erza tighter in an attempt to protect his partner and prepared himself for a hard fall. The impact of his back with the ground knocked out his breath and then he lost consciousness…


	2. Family

Gray woke up disoriented and every move caused him a deal of pain. He opened his eyes only to see a white room where everything seemed unfamiliar. His hands and arms were aching with burning pain. He tried to sit up, but his back hurt all the more.  
"Gray-sama!" he heard a startled voice and turned to the owner. It was a young woman with blue hair and very concerned expression. Gray hissed in pain and asked her:

"Juvia, what happened to me?"  
"Gray-sama, don't you remember?" she had a strong French accent and in her voice was something similar to admiration. Gray noticed the dark circles under her eyes. She must have been worried about him to sit here all night. Wait a sec… he couldn't even remember for how long he had been there.

Gray looked to the ceiling so that his neck was in a more comfortable position and tried to recall the previous events. "I was with Erza. We managed to finally get Jose and then the explosion occurred…"  
"Exactly, Jose had it planned so he would trap you and Miss Erza in that explosion and he would get to safety in time. Nobody else was in that building in the time of explosion. Juvia wanted to warn you in time, but they didn't let me in. I watched as the third floor exploded. After a minute the second floor did the same and after a short while the chain on the first floor activated. That was when we saw you jump off the window with Miss Erza. The fall was so dangerous and I was so worried…" Juvia seemed to have tears in her eyes while describing this event to him. Gray smiled encouragingly at her and patted her shaking hand.  
"That's alright, Juvia. I'm alive and so is…" he stopped mid-sentence.  
"Where's Erza? Is she alright?"

Juvia looked at him surprised and then pointed at something behind him. "Miss Erza is right there. Her wounds were a little worse than yours, but they said she will be alright."  
Gray looked at the pointed direction and gasped over the sight. Erza was lying on the bed similar to his. She was sleeping and didn't seem to be in pain, but she was covered in bandages and her legs were completely burnt. Even her forehead was properly bandaged and her hair was brushed away from her face so it showed the not so pretty scar on her right eye. It started somewhere in her hair, run through her right eye and ended in the middle of her cheek. She had never told him when or how she got this scar and he'd never asked her. She often covered it with her bangs, but he knew she was somehow proud of it. It was her mark. She wouldn't be the same without this mark of her strength and endurance.

_Flashback time ^^_

Gray sat in his office, shirtless as always and with his legs stretched over the mess on his table. He was reading some reports about his last missions. A young boy in Gray's age with pink hair and thoughtful expression played solitaire on the other side of the room. Unlike his shirtless friend, the pink head refused to walk around half naked even in this unbelievable heat that occurred because of non-functional air-conditioner. After a while Gray started to fan himself with the reports and looked admonishingly at his partner.  
"Natsu, you should at least pretend to work."  
The said man looked at Gray. He seemed completely annoyed and bored. "But it's so hot in here… I can't possibly work in these conditions!" he exclaimed and fanned himself with a random paper on his table.  
"Well, it is your problem and no one else's, so you should just accept the conditions and work…"  
"I can't see anything so bad with not wanting to walk in my office naked. And besides you are just pretending to work, so what's the big difference."

"_The difference is that I don't walk around destroying stuff and using unnecessary amount of explosives, you explosive freak."  
"As if I was the only one who's destroying stuff, you perverted freak."  
Both of them had to close their eyes and breathe deeply. It was too hot for any arguments and they knew it would only end up in another fight. They had been partners for so long and they always managed to take on whatever challenge. The only problem was their attitude. If they were together in one room for too long… well, I'm sure you wouldn't like to see the room afterwards. But they were still friends and a part of the same Fairy tail family and no arguments could ever bring them apart._

_ After a while someone knocked on the door and came in. It was a tiny old man, but he seemed very authoritative. The boys stood up and bowed respectfully to their boss. The man bowed. This was the end of all formalities.  
"Hey master, what's up?"  
"Good morning master, how is it going?"  
The said man grinned at his two boys. "I'm fine, thanks for the question. I have some special announcement for the two of you."  
Once again they turned serious and he continued. "I know that you're a great team, but we both know about your own personal… issues. Another thing is, that we have two newcomers that I would like to be taken care of, so I will split your team and both of you will get a new partner."  
The boys looked at each other. Natsu then smiled "It was nice working with ya, you ass." He said cheerfully. Gray smiled back. "Don't say it like that. We're still the same family, you smartass." They shook hands and again looked at their master. He smiled at his boys. He somehow counted on them taking it professionally, but he was somehow proud of them that they managed to split their team so cheerfully. "So then, come on. I will introduce you your new partners."_

"Natsu, this is Lissana Strauss. Miss Lissana, this is your partner Natsu Dragneel. He will show you our agency and work with you on your future cases."  
Natsu looked carefully on his new partner. It was a very beautiful young woman with short white hair. She gave a cheerful aura around her. After the introduction she smiled and shook hands with her partner. Natsu stood there amazed. Gray had to strike his ribs to get him the wind of reality. Gray laughed at his old partner falling in love so easily, but in his heart, he wished him luck.  
Natsu afterwards accompanied Lissana out of the master's office to show her around.  
"And this is Erza Scarlet. Miss Erza, Gray Fullbuster will be your partner." They shook hands and Gray observed his new partner. Erza was a tall strong looking woman with beautiful red hair that was tied up in a stern bun. Only her bangs covered the right half of her face, which seemed odd to Gray, because she was completely composed otherwise. She wore a white shirt with a red tie and a black miniskirt. Her legs were long and beautiful and they ended in court shoes. She gave the expression of a strong and beautiful woman, but her gaze was somehow that of a stone. As if nobody was invited in. Gray guessed that she will be very reserved. Her grip was iron. Gray assumed she would be a great agent, but would she be able to become a part of their family? Even her clothes were so stern, not even Lissana wore such formal clothes, even though she was also new.  
After they'd shook their hands, master said: "He will show you our agency and work with you on your future cases." She nodded and then observed her partner. Gray somehow regretted that he hadn't put on his shirt, but well… he knew she will find out his habit sooner or later. He studied her and somehow waited for an expression, so that he knew what she thought of him. He found nothing. Her face showed nothing more than a beautiful stone would. Gray tried his best not to sigh. He knew this wouldn't be as funny as he hoped it to be.

"So this is our agency. It's rather small, we do not have many agents, but we are very important for the police. As you know, we take on the tougher cases. Every agent in here is well trained and so on and so on." He was informing her, while they walked through the corridor. "I guess you already know this sort of information about us… So, on the second floor are only two offices: the master's and Mirajane's."  
They walked into the second office on this floor to find there a woman with long white hair. Now that Gray thought about it, it seemed as if Lissana was her sister… So that was more to that similarity of names as he'd thought at first.  
"Hey, Mirajane." Gray said cheerfully.  
"Oh, hi Gray. How are you doing?"  
"I'm fine, thanks."  
"How can I help you, today? Have you lost your shirt again?" she said chuckling. Gray's face turned red. He usually didn't mind this sort of statements, but now he was with his new partner and it surely didn't count as a good first expression.  
"No, thank you. I've come to introduce you to my new partner Erza Scarlet." Mirajane managed to stop giggling and looked at the redhead standing next to Gray.  
"Pleased to meet you. My name is Mirajane Strauss. I'm master's secretary and assistant. If you need anything you can ask me for help. I'm here for everyone." She said with a wide smile. Erza almost smiled, too. At least that was what Gray thought.  
"Thank you for your care, Mirajane." She answered and shook her hand.

Afterwards Gray showed her the offices on the first floor. All offices were shared by two people: two partners.  
Natsu and Lissana  
Gray and Erza  
Fried and Bickslow  
Elfman and Evergreen  
Wakaba and Macao (the oldest duo)  
Levy and Gajeel  
Jet and Droy  
Cana and Loki  
"…and the last office is shared by Alzack and Bisca. They're actually married and their daughter Asuka often comes here with them."  
Erza seemed to be surprised upon this information. That was actually her first reaction at all, Gray thought. "They take their little child in here?"  
Gray lifted one eyebrow. "Yea, this agency is more like a family so they take their little child in here."  
"A family?" she asked unconvinced. "It's work. Where's the place for family in it?"  
Gray seemed offended. "This is not just work. We risk our lives for something we believe in. We're in this together, so there's no reason to be so reserved. Most of our members have lost their real family, so here is the place where they can find a new one."  
Erza sighed over his words as if they seemed to her as something incredibly stupid. Gray closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He didn't want to get into argument with his partner on her first day. So he showed her the ground floor, where they had a kitchen and a gym, because the agents had to keep themselves in a top form.  
Afterwards they went to their new office and Gray said: "So now you are a member of Fairy tail. Welcome to our family." She obviously didn't know what to answer to that, so she just observed her knew working place.  
After a while, Natsu stormed in. "Hey guys. We are going to have a party tonight to welcome our new members." He winked at Erza. "You're both invited of course." And then he disappeared again, probably already making preparations for the party. Gray smiled at Erza and said "You don't have to wear such formal clothes to the party."  
"Coming from a boy who has no clothes?" It might have sounded like a joke if there was any trace of humor in her voice. "I won't come. I have better things to do, then party." She said and then left the room. Gray just stared at his leaving partner dumbfounded. 'How can someone this reserved ever become a part of Fairy tail?'

The end of flashback ^^

"Hey, Gray! Are you alright?"  
Gray was suddenly pulled out of his reverie of reminiscence and looked at his partner. He smiled and answered "I should be the one asking the question. How do you feel?" he asked worriedly.

"I feel much better than I look like." She laughed. "I guess these burns will leave some scars on my legs and your hands."  
"I guess so. But it was worth it. Jose is finally out."  
Erza smiled. "Yeah…"  
Then she looked at him with concern. She opened her mouth, but no words came out of it.  
"Is something the matter?" Gray asked, because he seldom saw Erza speechless.  
"I just…" Erza sighed and smiled again.  
"Thank you for saving my life twice in a row. I really owe you one for this time."  
"Don't talk nonsense, Erza. You'd saved my life countless times before. I was just repaying. And don't forget, we're family. There are no debts in Fairy tail."  
She answered with another warm smile and then looked to the ceiling. Even though she claimed to be OK, Gray knew her wounds exhausted her extremely. He knew because he had the same wounds, the same burns he got while he was trying to protect her. This was his partner he was ready to risk his life for and he already countless times did. And so did she for him. She had changed so much while in Fairy tail. Even though she'd seemed so strong, she was even stronger now. She was a part of their family. She belonged to Fairy tail.

_Another flashback^^_

It had been a few months since Erza joined Fairy tail. She had successfully avoided all parties or anything that would have made her one of the family members. She was still as reserved as when she came to the agency. Together with Gray they had succeeded in a few cases, but he still couldn't get closer to her: neither as a partner nor as a friend. She was still as cold as a stone and Gray lost all hope in her becoming a real member of their family. He settled with the idea of her being just an outsider that will leave the place after she gets a better offer. He didn't see anything more in her.

After a while, they got some bigger case, which acquired two teams to cooperate. They got teamed up with Natsu and Lissana. They were supposed to get some mysterious group of robbers. After a few weeks of investigation, they found out that the robbers were going to rob a certain bank in the center of the town. The bank was famous for the high security and the fact that all the strongboxes were in the highest floor.  
Our team waited for the robbers to get to the highest floor and then blocked all the elevators but one. Gray said "Now we'll split up. You two take the staircase and we will go by the only left elevator. One of us shall catch them." Everybody nodded and did as he said. Erza and Gray rode the elevator in silence as usual, when suddenly the elevator stopped and the lights turned off. Only a small red emergency sign stayed on.  
"What the fuck?" Gray swore and looked for the reason of this sudden stop.  
"It seems like they turned us off. We have to leave it in Natsu's hands for now." Erza said matter-of-factly. Gray swore again and pushed a button on his clock. "Hey Natsu! They blocked us in the elevator and probably turned off the electricity. Be careful, now it's all up to you."  
"Roger that, smartass." Natsu replied and before Gray could said something back to him, Natsu turned off.  
Erza sighed and leaned against the wall of the elevator then slid down on the floor. She took off her shoes and massaged her feet. Gray sat in the opposite corner and they waited. After a while it was very warm in the elevator. That confirmed Gray's theory about the turned of electricity. Nor even the air-conditioner worked. Gray did what he could to stay awake. In this heat it wasn't so easy to stay conscious. He had to find something to pay attention to. After examining the buttons and after reading all the rules for riding an elevator (some of them even surprised him, because he had never read it before) and after observing the emergency light for five minutes he found a new object: his partner.  
Erza breathed heavily in the heated air and still massaged her feet. Gray noticed that she still wore her jacket. He often wore a suit, but today she had just her miniskirt and jacket. He came a bit closer to her.  
"It's kinda hot in here, don't you think? You should take off your jacket." He said with the least pressure.  
"You already did so, as I can see." She answered and made him realize he already didn't wear his shirt.  
'Damn it' he thought.  
She kept breathing heavily, but didn't take off her coat. After a while he had enough and came to her. "Come on. If don't do it yourself, I'll help you." He stated firmly.  
"Is this a threat?"  
Before she could do anything, he managed to take off her jacket with one smooth move. She stared at him with surprise and he was glad that the light was too weak to show his astonishment upon her. She wore a sleeveless shirt today and her almost delicate hands looked beautifully in this small scarlet light. Maybe it was because of this light that she seemed so beautiful. The color of her hair seemed more scarlet then usual.  
He put away her coat and came even closer to her. With one hand he lifted up her bangs as he said. "You should sometimes tie up your bangs. I'm sure you have a pretty face there and you shouldn't hide…" he stopped in mid-sentence as he observed her scar. Her healthy eye examined him as if seeing him for the first time. Even though her blind eye was so damaged, it still had the beautiful mahogany color.  
His fingers run down the scar. "How did this…?" he whispered more for himself than a question for her.  
"It's my reminder."  
"Your reminder of what?"  
"My reminder of how cruel people can be and a reminder of how stupid and weak I am." Her voice stayed strong, but in contradiction with the sound, a lonesome tear made its way down her left cheek.  
"That's not true." Gray said gently. "I've seen you in action. You're strong, bold and intelligent."  
"You're wrong! You know nothing about me!" she shouted and curled up into a trembling ball.  
Gray surprised her by a gentle hug. "I may know nothing about you, but I know that all people are weak, when they're alone. That's why Fairy tail is a family. We help each other and support each other. We may not be strong individuals, but we are strong thanks to our bonds. This scar may remind you of your weakness, but you should remind yourself that you are not alone…"

The elevator suddenly moved and the lights turned on. The two of them quickly separated and put on their clothes. Erza quickly managed to wipe out the tears of her face. It seemed she did it often. After a while, the door opened and they both behaved as if nothing happened. Gray couldn't but wonder if his words could reach her…

The end of flashback^^

Natsu stormed to the room. "Hey guys. Are you alright? Juvia told us, you were both finally awake." Right behind Natsu walked a blond girl with a more than visible cleavage. She laughed at her partner and said: "They may be awake, Natsu, but remember they're not healed, yet. You shouldn't just storm in the room like that."  
"You can let him be Lucy. We are glad to see you both whether you're storming or calm" Erza said smiling at her friends. Natsu observed her burnt legs. "Wow, Erza, it seems like you will have some more cool scars."  
Gray laughed. "You idiot! You have no idea how much it hurts."  
Lucy observed them both with concern clear in her eyes. "Are you guys alright? These wounds seem painful."  
"Don't worry Lucy, we'll be alright soon." Erza smiled encouragingly.  
"You'd better get it together soon, because after finally finishing this pain-in-the-ass-case we should have the biggest party we've ever had!" Natsu exclaimed and started dancing as if already in the party.  
"Well, it will take us a day or two, before we can dance, but you can count on us to be the first to start partying, right, Erza?" Gray answered enthusiastically.  
"I'm not sure we'll be ready to dance so soon, but I agree this needs a celebration. Natsu, I hereby commission you to prepare the biggest party we've ever had."  
Natsu shouted in excitement. "Count on me!" And he stormed out of the room just as fast as he stormed in. Everybody laughed at his excitement, but they had to confess they were excited, too. Lucy wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye.  
"Sorry for Natsu, but you've seen his excitement. You two did a great job and it deserves a party, but now you should rest a bit more. I'm glad you're alright. Take care for now." She said as she left the room.  
Erza and Gray sighed at the same time, then looked at each other and started giggling. "Natsu sure is a party man." Erza said amusedly.  
"He sure is…"  
Both of them drifted into a dreamless sleep as they both thought how glad they were for the nightmare to be finally over.

**Hey guys. So this chapter was somehow too long and a bit boring with all the flashbacks, but I can't always write about action :D  
But as you know, the next chapter will be the great party, so again no action, but there will be some flashbacks from the recent case, so at least something :D  
I beg you all for a review and please leave me your opinion about the descriptions of all the unnecessary things… I'm not sure whether it's not too boring or whatever… or just leave me a review about anything you liked or didn't like… pleeeeease :-***


	3. Party

"It's a PARTYYYYY!"  
Natsu exclaimed and pointed at Bickslow who stood behind a big DJ table.  
"Show us what you've got, Natsu!" shouted Bickslow and turned on the music.  
Natsu started dancing with loud exclamations about awesomeness of this party.  
Mirajane started giggling at her dancing friend while she carried some plates with food. Lucy and Juvia followed her with even more food and some drinks.  
"Come on, Natsu! It's a dancing contest!" screamed Cana and joined her excited friend. She already seemed a bit tipsy, but that didn't affect her dancing skills at all.  
Everyone else gradually joined the party of Fairy tail that occurred in the Fairy tail gym. They somehow hoped that Natsu wouldn't be able to destroy so much stuff in here. Nevertheless they brought a few tables for food and a sofa, so they couldn't be so sure about Natsu not destroying at least that.  
It didn't take much time for the food to disappear, but the drinks (and most of all the alcoholic drinks) somehow didn't seem to disappear regardless the amount that had been drunk.  
After a while Natsu got almost everyone onto the dance floor: everyone instead of one couple. Gray and Erza still weren't so sure about moving around so freely with all the burns, so they just stood along, or talked to anyone who wasn't dancing at the moment.  
"Hey, Erza! Fight with me!"  
"Natsu, don't be crazy! She's hurt and on top of that, she's wearing a skirt!" Lucy screamed in frustration at her partner that was already completely smashed from all the beer. But nobody else seemed to care about Erza's wounds, not even her alone. Macao brought a wrestling mat in the middle of the dance floor and everybody waited for the fight to begin. Erza smiled at Natsu challengingly. "I hope you won't go easy on me just because I'm a little bit hurt."  
"Come on, guys! You can't mean this for real. She's hurt!" Lucy tried her best to stop this fight, but as usual, nobody seemed to care. They knew Erza too well to consider her wounds as something that would stop her.  
"I hope _you_ won't go easy on me, just because you're a little bit hurt." Natsu replied excitedly. Gray laughed. "You can count on Erza never to go easy."  
"Fiiiiiiiiiight!" the drunken master called out, but afterwards passed out before the match even begun.  
Natsu attacked first and Erza easily dodged his attack. This seemed to repeat itself again and again. Natsu attacked, Erza swiftly dodged and sometimes added a dancing figure. It might have been because Erza was much less drunk, but this fight wasn't the least even. After Natsu's attack, when Erza managed to do a pirouette with her dodge, Natsu got so enraged he started to attack even more instinctively and blindly. After one extremely unprepared attack he even lost his balance and Erza used it to kick him to the ground.  
"Erza wins!" Gray exclaimed and everyone started cheering her on.  
"Maybe I should have been more worried about Natsu than Erza." Lucy said while laughing.  
Erza helped Natsu on his feet and started walking away from the wrestling mat.  
"Hey! I want a rematch!" Natsu shouted instantly, but Erza just raised her arm in a surrendering manner "Maybe next time, Natsu." And she left the gym without anyone noticing, because they were all so swallowed up in the party again.  
When everyone started dancing, someone noticed her exit after all and followed her out. After a while, he noticed the light in her office, and went in there.  
"Hey, Erza, what are you doing here?" Gray asked in concern. He suddenly noted her shivering form on the ground. "Erza!" he shouted and quickly came to her. She was breathing heavily and blood was spilling from her legs.  
"Hey, Gray! It seems like I overdid it a bit." She said calmly and hissed in pain afterwards.  
"A bit?! You're injured Erza, you can't just move around freely!" He exclaimed and searched in his closet for some water. Then he spilled the water on her legs to wash away the blood. "How could they even let you out of the hospital if you're in such state?!" he asked angrily.  
"Well… they didn't actually let me out." She said apologetically as if he was the one she wronged. Gray sighed.  
"Erza, I know you were looking forward for the party, but I guarantee you would have enjoyed it more if you were completely healed. You should get back to the hospital for a while longer."  
"Thank you, Gray, but I think I can manage. All I would do in there would be lying, being bored and sleeping. I can do that at home."  
Gray sighed again over the obstinacy of his partner.  
"Listen, Erza. You're bleeding and trembling from pain. You're going back to the hospital even if I would have to be the one to take you there. I just want you to be safe. And so does everyone else. So please, don't be so stubborn and come with me."  
Erza sighed surrendering.  
"I feel so weak in situations like this…"  
"What's so weak about taking care of yourself? You did a great job in this case so you deserve a bit of rest, don't you think?"  
Erza smiled gratefully. Gray stood up and outstretched his hand to his best friend and best partner. Erza accepted his help and tried to stand up, but she hissed in pain and almost instantly started falling back on the ground. Gray managed to catch her in a protective hug and got her on her feet. He breathed in her scent. It was mixed up with the smell of her blood so he couldn't say it was something pleasant, but he found it satisfying that he was finally able to help his partner and not the other way round. Even though he hoped he didn't have to see her in such state very often. Erza wasn't a weak person and he knew that. She was strong at all times and even now she struggled with the pain very bravely.

After a while, they managed to get into Gray's car and were on their way to the hospital. They could hear the weakening sound of the party in the gym. Nobody noticed they'd left.  
"Thanks for the lift, Gray, and I'm sorry for troubling you." Erza said apologetically.  
"Come on, Erza. I've already told you. We're partners, part of the same family. This is no trouble."  
Erza smiled with sad eyes. She totally wasn't used to being help, but Gray somehow knew that it's a very good sign she's learned how to at least accept help from others.  
Gray grasped the wheel as he looked at his healing burns. It seemed ironic that even though he was the one who tried to protect her, she was still the one to receive the worse wounds. He sighed over this thought and tried to drive it off. They were both alright now, or at least they soon will be and that's what mattered.  
"This case surely was a great pain in the ass…" he said more for himself than to her.  
"It sure was. And the consequences somehow keep chasing me even now." She said it more like a joke, but her smile wasn't cheerful at all.  
"Let's not worry about it anymore. It shall be finally completely over in a few days."  
"I think that with our scars it won't be so easy to say it's completely over…"  
"These scars are just the proof of our strength, don't you agree? We will forever remember the biggest case we've solved so far and we will remember that it wasn't easy at all."  
"Yea… you're right."  
Both of them smiled. The car was filled with their peace of minds. After every solved case they were able to get closer somehow and this one was so tough, they were now the best partners.

_Flashback time ^^  
"Finally done!" Gray exclaimed as he slammed a handful of paperwork on his table and yawned lazily. "Today I'll finally get some sleep. What about you Erza?" he turned to his partner that sat on the other side of their office working diligently.  
"I'll have a night shift today, so no sleep for me. Natsu and Lucy are going for a patrol so I'll be here on my own it seems."_

"_Shall I stay with you?"  
"Come on, Gray. We both know you need some sleep." she said with an understanding smile._

"_Well… I can't say I don't." To confirm his words he yawned again with a loud sigh. He stood up and walked towards the doors. "Good luck with the night shift. I hope any shit won't happen again. You always have the best of luck, you know?"  
Erza smiled amusedly. "It wouldn't be necessary if nothing happened at night. It's the same as during the day it's just that less people are here, nothing special to worry about. And even though you're so tired I still think you should take your shirt with you."  
"Damnit!" Gray shouted surprised as he realized his lack of clothes._

_After he left Erza sighed. 'Another night shift on my own... It's more fun when at least Mira is here, but even she needs to go home sometimes… never mind, I should get back to work.'  
Erza Scarlet wasn't a very sociable person, but somehow she grew to like Fairy tail and its company. It almost felt wrong being on her own in this building… and also sometimes impossible. A simple transmitter was lying on her table. It kept her in touch with Natsu and Lucy in case they found something. But the three of them hoped that wouldn't have to happen. No one likes troubles at night._

After a while Erza was completely annoyed by the paperwork and decided to rest a bit. She sat on the couch lazily and yawned. 'This is going to be a long night. I just hope nothing will happen.' She sighed and closed her eyes for a minute…

Everything was dark a cold. The rain kept falling on the ground and soaked two small children. A small blue-haired boy held a small red headed girl that seemed to be injured. "Don't worry, Erza! You'll be OK in no time."  
The girl breathed heavily and blood was spilling from her right eye, which was covered with a piece of cloth.  
"What did I tell you to do, you little brats?!" a strong man's voice called out and the man started beating the little boy. Erza screamed. "Noooo!"

Erza suddenly opened her eyes. She was unharmed, back in her office. 'What? A dream?' Her hand automatically reached to her right eye. Her fingers run through the scar. 'It's all over, now. I can't do anything to change my past…'

"_Erza, what happened?!" asked Gray who just ran into the office.  
"Gray! What are you doing here?" Erza asked confused.  
"I received a message that I have to come here the fastest I can. Everybody told me they received the same message, what happened?"  
Erza frowned. Every one received the same message to get here? Her eyes widened in realization.  
"It's a trap! Gray, hurry! Get every one in the gym!" she quickly ran out of her office.  
"Erza! What do you mean?" but she was already too far to answer his question. He sighed and hurried to carry out her orders._

_In a few minutes everybody was in the gym awaiting Erza's explanation.  
"What the hell's happening, here? And where's Erza?!" asked impatiently Elfman.  
"Calm down a bit. Nobody knows this, so let's just wait for Erza and she'll tell us." Mirajane said calmingly. They all stayed quiet and waited for any sign of explanation that would satisfy their curiosity about this situation. After a while they heard footsteps coming from the corridor. Someone was running toward the gym. They all surrounded the entrance and stared to the darkness of the corridor. They heard Erza's voice before they could see her. "Everybody, get away from the doors!" she exclaimed and they all obeyed. Suddenly Erza stormed into the gym and was attacked my many questions, but she ignored them. She quickly closed the door and leaned her back on them. All questions stopped as they could hear an explosion coming from the corridor. Before anyone could prepare for the blow, the doors were abruptly blown away together with Erza and the explosion stopped._

_Erza was lying on the floor, trying to stand up. Her back was on fire. Juvia hurriedly poured a bucket of water on her back. "Erza, are you alright?" Gray asked concerned._

"_Damn! She saved our lives." Elfman said relieved, when he saw she will be fine…_

_That was the beginning of their biggest case so far. This attack was planned on them by Jose's mafia group that wasn't so satisfied with their interfering in their business. Thanks to this unsuccessful attack Gray and Erza were finally able to track them down for the prize you already know…_

The end of flashback ^^

Gray and Erza finally rode to the hospital. The nurses were pretty angry with her for not being careful enough and for running away from the hospital. They took care of her quickly and let her rest. Gray stayed with her a little while longer until she fell asleep.

'Even the mighty Erza can get hurt sometimes…' he smiled. She was so much stronger than she was when she came to Fairy tail. And even Fairy tail was stronger thanks to her. Let's just hope they wouldn't have to experience something so painful ever again and that the time Fairy tail was targeted is finally over…

**Well, again this chapter seems to be long and boring, but at least the Phantom Lord part is finally over. Now we can move on to the main story of my story, yay.  
And I would really appreciate some reviews ;) Thanks for reading.**


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